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Accelerator comparison

Techstars vs Antler

How Techstars and Antler compare on investment, equity, format, stage and timing. Every figure comes from the programs' own sites, verified November 4, 2026.

TechstarsAntler
Investment$220KNot published
Equity5%Not published
Deal terms$220K: $20K for 5% common stock (post-money convertible equity agreement) + $200K uncapped MFN post-money SAFEVaries by market: e.g. US $500K-$1M initial commitment; Singapore $100K for 10% plus $50K uncapped MFN SAFE; UK GBP125K for 8.5%
FormatHybridIn-person
HeadquartersBoulder, United StatesSingapore
Stagepre-seed, seedidea, pre-seed
Sectorsgeneral, ai, health, fintech, climategeneral
Duration3 months6 weeks to 3 months depending on location
Application cycleProgram-specific; multiple programs run spring and fall cohortsrolling, with multiple cohort starts per year by location
Next deadlineNovember 18, 2026Not published

Investment is the full standard package; where part of it is an uncapped SAFE, the equity stake covers only the fixed part (see deal terms). Terms change; confirm on each official site before applying.

About

Techstars

Global pre-seed investor founded in Boulder in 2006, running three-month, mentorship-driven accelerators in cities including Boston, Boulder, Chicago, New York, London and Tokyo, plus the remote Techstars Anywhere and corporate-partnered themed programs. Since 2025 its standard deal is $220K, and some programs, such as New York, now run in a hybrid format.

Notable alumni: SendGrid, DigitalOcean, ClassPass, PillPack

About

Antler

Global early-stage investor that runs in-person residencies where individual founders can meet co-founders and build a company before receiving pre-seed investment. It runs programs in about 30 cities across the Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa. Investment terms are set locally and differ by market.

Notable alumni: Lovable, Airalo, Peec AI

Key differences

Techstars or Antler?

When are the next Techstars and Antler deadlines?
Techstars' next published deadline is November 18, 2026. Antler has no upcoming deadline published (application cycle: rolling, with multiple cohort starts per year by location).
Do I need to relocate for Techstars or Antler?
Techstars runs hybrid (headquartered in Boulder, United States); Antler runs in person (headquartered in Singapore).

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